Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has introduced a bill, the Broadcast Diversity in Leadership Act, to promote broadcast diversity by creating the incubator program the FCC tried to create as part of its broadcast dereg order that was remanded by a federal appeals court.

The difference is that while the FCC incubator program was radio only, Walden's is for TV as well.

Walden is the ranking member of the House Energy & Commerce Committee and a former broadcaster himself.

The incubator program puts established broadcasters together with minority new entrants with the idea of giving them an opportunity to own one or more of the broadcasters' stations, with the broadcaster providing training, access to resources, and more, but with limits on how much equity the established broadcaster can hold in the new entrant and the requirement that the emerging broadcaster have effective control of any incubated station.

Related: NAB: FCC Doesn't Need Diversity Impact Stats to Deregulate

"As a former radio station owner in rural Oregon, I know well that our local broadcasters are often Americans’ primary source of local news, particularly in rural areas," said Walden. "I understand the importance of ensuring broadcast owners and their content reflect the communities they serve."

“NAB thanks Rep. Walden for introducing legislation creating an incubator program that would help aspiring broadcasters realize their dream of owning a radio or TV station," said National Association of Broadcasters president Gordon Smith. "NAB strongly supports efforts to increase media ownership diversity by providing pathways to station ownership for new and diverse voices,” said Gordon Smith, President and CEO, National Association of Broadcasters."

"We are pleased that the proposed incubator program would include television," said James Winston, president of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters (NABOB). "NABOB has supported the creation of an incubator program for many years. We are very grateful to Congressman Walden for taking this next step toward its implementation."

Some top Republican lawmakers want President Trump to come down harder on hackers from the People's republic of China, saying his Administration has needs to do more to combat what amounts to a threat on American lives. 

Related: Justice Charges Chinese Hackers

In a letter to the President dated Monday (July 20), Greg Walden (Ore.), Michael McCaul (Texas) and Patrick McHenry (N.C.), the ranking members of the House Energy & Commerce. Foreign Affairs and Financial Services committees, respectively, thanked the President for what he has done so far, but said Treasury "has not sufficiently imposed sanctions [on PRC-linked hackers or those that benefit from such theft] for cyberattacks on Americans," activity that "puts the very citizens of our lives at risk." 

Related: GOP Applaud UK Huawei Ban

They suggested that was just the latest in decades of the U.S. "not taking principled stands or enforcing violations of commitments." 

That activity includes trying to gain illicit access to data on "valuable" COVID-19 info related to public health, vaccines, treatments and testing. 

Related: FCC Seeks Input on Excluding Foreign Tech 

They said that during the COVID-19 crisis--"exacerbated by the CCP cover-up"--the PRC's cyber attacks have grown more aggressive.  

While they concede that for many years the "muted" response to PRC aggression was in hopes that leniency would foster cooperation and drive the CCP toward our economic and political values, but that it has had the opposite effect of emboldening the CCP down a path that threatens the security of the U.S. and the world.  

The trio of Republicans want a briefing from the Department of Treasure (and State) as well as whichever other agency the President deems relevant, so they can get a sense of the scope both of the attacks and the U.S. response.

Looking to get in front of an issue with bipartisan support, the ranking Republicans on the House Energy & Commerce Committee have called on the Democratic chairs of the Energy & Commerce Committee and Communications Subcommittee to hold a hearing on closing the digital divide. 

Doing the asking were E&C ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta (R-Ohio). 

That came in a letter Thursday (June 4) to Committee chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Subcommittee chairman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.). 

"The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for connectivity, as millions of Americans transition to working remotely," the Republicans wrote. "Children need broadband to be able to do their schoolwork from home. Some Americans who do not have access to reliable broadband connections travel to the nearest parking lot to be able to connect to the Internet. It is our duty to examine these issues and work in a bipartisan manner to close the digital divide."

They pointed to a hearing the subcommittee had held on the issue earlier this year, but said given the pandemic, it is time to look at the implications for the millions who did not have access to broadband, including reducing "regulatory barriers." 

The FCC has certainly been short-cutting some of the normal regulatory routes to broadband deployment during the pandemic, loosening or waiving rules to boost access for low income residents and those on tribal lands, among others. 

Walden and Latta pointed out that ISPs had stepped up to offer free or reduced service, kept providing service to those unable to pay and increased data allowances, as well as donating devices to help kids do their homework. 

They were certainly preaching to the choir about the need for closing the digital divide, which has been a focus on Democrats as well as Republicans, but may have lost them on the need for reducing regulations to get there.  

The Republicans called for a hearing ASAP. A spokesperson for committee Democrats was unavailable for comment on the letter.  

The Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act (HR 4998) has passed the House by voice vote, according to the legislators who backed the bill. 

It must still pass the Senate and be signed by the President.  

Related: Commerce Releases Suspect Tech Vetting Framework 

Among other things, the bill would make at least $1 billion available for ripping and replacing suspect tech from existing networks. 

The bill "prohibits the use of federal funds to purchase communications equipment or services from any company that poses a national security risk to American communications networks." (Funds for federal contracts are already barred from being used on Huawei and other allegedly suspect tech.)

Related: Huawei-Scrubbing 5G Bill introduced 

The FCC has already voted to exclude suspect tech from its Universal Service Fund broadband subsidy program and sought input on how to reimburse the smaller carriers who tend to purchase suspect tech because of the cost of the subsidized products and whether it should extend the prohibition beyond the USF fund to other networks. 

Congress definitely wants the FCC to look beyond. The bill would require network providers to submit an annual report to the FCC on whether it had "purchased, rented, leased, or otherwise obtained" equipment from suspect tech providers.  

The bill specifically: 

1. "Prohibits the use of federal funds, administered by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to purchase communications equipment or services from any company that poses a national security risk to American communications networks;

2. "Requires the FCC to establish the Secure and Trusted Communications Reimbursement Program to assist small communications providers with the costs of removing prohibited equipment or services from their networks and replacing the prohibited equipment with more secure communications equipment or services; and

3. "Helps the Federal government better share supply chain security information with carriers, particularly smaller carriers, to help keep this equipment out of our networks in the future." 

“Securing our networks from malicious foreign interference is critical to America’s wireless future," said House Energy & Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.), and Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) in a joint statement. "Companies like Huawei and its affiliates pose a significant threat to America’s commercial and security interests because a lot of communications providers rely heavily on their equipment. This bipartisan legislation will protect our nation’s communications networks from foreign adversaries, and help small and rural providers remove and replace suspect network equipment. We look forward to swift action in the Senate so we can send this bill to the President’s desk and protect our national security,” the leaders said. 

The FCC had no comment at press time on how much the bill differed from what it had already established in the order voted out unanimously last month.

The House has voted overwhelmingly to approve the bipartisan TRACED Act, a Senate bill (S. 151) that would crack down on unwanted robocalls. The vote was 417-3. 

The bill has already passed the Senate so it now heads to the President's desk. 

Caller ID and spam blocking app Truecaller released a report this week that showed spam robocalls were up fivefold in 2019, up from 7% of spam calls to 35%. 

Among other things, the bill would give the FCC civil fining authority of up to $20,000 per call for those who "intentionally flout" telemarketing restrictions. That could add up given that, by some estimates, spam calls make up over 40% of all calls. It would also extend the statute of limitations for taking action against illegal robocalls from one year to three.  

The bill would help punish bad actors--the FCC could seek financial penalties for misleading calls--and verify good calls, said its backers. It would also require carriers to provide default blocking at no extra cost. 

Related: Cable Ops Oppose Default Robocall-Blocking Mandate 

The compromise bill was introduced last month 

The Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act combines (and reconciles) the TRACED Act, which passed the Senate in May, and the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which incorporated five robocall bills, and passed the House in July. 

Specifically, according to Energy & Commerce, the bill:

• "Requires carriers to offer call-authentication technology to consumers and small businesses—in rural and urban America—at no additional charge;
• "Requires opt-in or opt-out robocall blocking be offered at no additional charge to consumers;
• "Gives the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) the ability to step up enforcement actions against unlawful robocalls with a longer statute of limitations and increased fines in certain cases;
• "Pushes the Department of Justice to bring more criminal prosecutions against criminal robocallers;
• "Requires the FCC to work to stop one-ring scams;
• "Helps the FCC and responsible carriers traceback and cutoff suspect phone companies that are responsible for sending vast numbers of unlawful robocalls; and
• "Protects patients, doctors and hospitals from unlawful robocalls."

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee that has principal oversight of the issue, said the bill provided meaningful solutions and was a great piece of legislation. (The Thune in the bill's name is John Thune [R-S.D]). 

"This is important legislation because unlawful robocalls are not only a nuisance," said Pallone, "they are also undermining our entire phone system and consumers' safety as a result. Too often Americans simply will not pick up their phones, out of fear that a robocall is on the other end of the line."

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), ranking member of the Energy & Commerce Committee, called it a good bill, though warned that scammers would try to do an end-around carrier efforts to stop them, so it was good that the bill included reports back to Congress on what else might be needed. 

“Here’s why the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act is a massive achievement and a landmark consumer protection bill: It supercharges the technology and traceback tools we know will cut down the illegal robocalls that are hijacking our phones and polluting our communications networks," said USTelecom president Jonathan Spalter. "The robocall battle won’t be won overnight, but today consumers notched a big victory against a determined enemy." 

“Robocalls have been flooding our phones for years, causing many Americans to even stop answering their phones," said NCTA-The Internet & Television Association. "We applaud House passage of the TRACED Act, and commend the bipartisan leadership of Senator Thune and Congressman Pallone for passing legislation that protects consumers from this daily aggravation. The TRACED Act is an important step to help alleviate Illegal robocalls and keep consumers safe from scammers.”

"I applaud the House for passing the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act," said Competitive Carriers Association president Steven K. Berry. "All carriers care about providing their customers with trusted voice communications and I commend Congress for taking steps to implement effective call authentication programs that address this overwhelming consumer complaint."

“ACA Connects is pleased that Congress has reached a bipartisan consensus on legislation to protect consumers from unwanted and illegal robocalls," said ACA Connects President Matt Polka. "ACA Connects members are eager to bring relief to their customers from the torrent of nuisance calls and scams, and to that end," Polka said. "ACA Connects is pleased that the bill takes into account the unique implementation challenges facing smaller providers. With the bill now headed to the Senate, we look forward to continuing to work with all stakeholders to bring an end to the robocalls scourge.”

House Energy & Commerce Committee leadership said Friday that they have come up with bipartisan, bicameral, legislation to combat unwanted robocalls.

The FCC is on the same page and a parallel track with various initiatives and fines for illegal robocalls, but it is one of the key constituent issues on the Hill so legislators want to put their own stake in that turf.

Signing on to the compromise bill are Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.), Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), Energy & Commerce Ranking Member Greg Walden (R-Ore.), Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), and ranking member Bob Latta (R-Ohio).

Related: Cable Ops Oppose Default Robocall-Blocking Mandate

“Today, we are proud to announce that we have come to an agreement in principle on legislation, the Pallone-Thune TRACED Act, to combat the robocall epidemic that we believe can be signed into law by the President,” they said in a joint statement. “It’s time to put Americans back in charge of their phones. Our agreement will require telephone carriers to verify calls and allow robocalls to be blocked in a consistent and transparent way, all at no extra charge to consumers. The agreement also gives the FCC and law enforcement the ability to quickly go after scammers. We look forward to finalizing the bill text in the coming days.”

The Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act will combine (and reconcile) the TRACED Act, which passed the Senate in May, and the Stopping Bad Robocalls Act, which passed the House in July.

The FCC under chairman Ajit Pai has made cracking down on unwanted calls, that number in the many billions annually, one of his signature issues. That includes clarifying that carriers can block robocalls by default and incentivizing them to add the feature at no extra charge.  

The FCC is under pressure from Congress to help consumers weed out unwanted robocalls--for one thing, legislators keep pointing out that they get such calls during hearings about how to stop them.

“Help is on the way! Thank you to these Congressional leaders for coming together to provide critical new tools to fight back against the robocall criminals scamming consumers and polluting our networks," said USTelecom President Jonathan Spalter. "This is a powerful shot in the arm to our technology driven traceback and verification work and will go a long way in helping take back our phones.”

Legislation to reauthorize the FCC, boost mobile broadband and provide additional funds, as needed, for broadcasters' moves to new spectrum in the post-incentive auction repack has been included in the must-pass omnibus spending bill scheduled for a vote this week, which must pass by Friday to avoid another government shutdown.

The RAY BAUM Act (which incorporated Sen. John Thune's MOBILE NOW Act) that made it onto the bill differs slightly from the one that passed the House earlier this month, according to a Hill source.

Those changes are:

Language was added from the Senate-passed version of the MOBILE NOW Act to "streamline broadband infrastructure siting on federal lands and accelerate the availability of funds from the Spectrum Relocation Fund to clear spectrum sooner." The MOBILE NOW Act makes sure that the FCC makes mid-band spectrum available for commercial use by 2020. It both promotes making more next-gen 5G wireless spectrum available and reduce obstacles to building out networks.

Another change is language that "clarifies" the incentive auction shortfall funding (which only triggers if, as the FCC expects, the $1.75 billion auction repack fund runs out of funds before broadcasters run out of moving expenses, and "removes a requirement regarding the submission of certain FCC budget estimates and other documents to Congress."

The broadcaster shortfall funding in the bill breaks down this way, according to the National Association of Broadcasters: $600 million more will be available for the repack fund in FY 2018, with up to $350 million for full-power stations, up to $150 million for low-power TV stations and translators, up to $50 million for radio and $50 million for consumer education. There will be an added $400 million in for FY 2019."

“NAB welcomes the omnibus appropriations bill’s inclusion of RAY BAUM'S Act along with funding that fully and fairly reimburses broadcasters for their spectrum repack relocation expenses," said NAB. "We urge immediate passage of this omnibus legislation and look forward to a repack process that holds harmless TV broadcasters, local radio stations and the tens of millions of Americans who rely on our services every day."

The FCC will be reauthorized for the first time in 28 years

The bill includes $7.5 million for the National Telecommunications & Information Administration "to coordinate broadband mapping across the Federal government," with NTIA taking the lead, according to Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The FCC has been doing the broadband mapping since NTIA ran out of money in 2015.

“I’m also incredibly proud to see inclusion of the RAY BAUM’S Act, legislation named after my dear friend and former Energy and Commerce staff director," said Walden.

Also in the omnibus bill is $600 million for rural broadband via a pilot program administered by the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS), according to NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association. President Donald Trump has said that rural broadband deployment is a priority. “We are excited by the promise of the resources provided within the omnibus and the prospect of continuing our members’ work with RUS," said NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield.

One bill provision that is key to freeing up more spectrum is a "fix" allowing the FCC "to deposit upfront payments from spectrum bidders directly with the U.S. Treasury," without which the FCC would be unable to conduct future spectrum auctions.

The House Energy & Commerce Committee will not be holding a network neutrality hearing Sept. 7 after all, according to Hill and industry sources familiar with the planned hearing.

Those sources had previously told Multichannel News that edge providers in particular were not jumping at the invitation, but the source said that extended to both edge providers and ISPs, who were instead offering up association heads as witnesses.

Back in July, House Energy & Commerce Committee chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.) announced the hearing, "Ground Rules for Internet Ecosystems," and invited edge providers including Facebook, Alphabet (Google), Amazon and Netflix and ISPs including Comcast, AT&T, Verizon and Charter. Walden said it was time to hear directly from them.

While the hearing was billed as being postponed for continued talks between the Hill and stakeholders about possible legislation, the source said not to look for it to be rescheduled anytime soon. "Postponed indefinitely" was how one source put it.

Related: Comcast Says Congress Should Lay Down Law on Net Neutrality

Energy & Commerce Committee Republicans have been trying to get the ISPs and edge providers together on compromise legislation to clarify the FCC's broadband regulatory authority, but a compromise bill appears a longshot given the current political climate, particularly on something as high-profile and controversial as the Open Internet debate.

Sept. 7 is still a day for network neutrality watchers to mark anyway since that is when the FCC would customarily release its tentative agenda for the Sept. 28 meeting, in case FCC chair Ajit Pai planned to schedule a vote on his proposal to to reverse Title II classification of ISPs and rethink the bright-line rules against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization.

WASHINGTON — As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to vote on its business data services [BDS] revamp proposal, which has drawn pushback from Congressional Republicans as well as cable ISPs, agency chairman Tom Wheeler is getting some pushback himself for not ramping down his regulatory agenda in the face of the recent election of President-elect Donald Trump.

Unsurprisingly, the chairman of the House Communications Subcommittee, Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) — who could be the chairman of the full committee after new assignments are voted on in the next couple of weeks — told Politico the FCC needs to cool its jets. "The notion of instituting new rules and regulations, cramming stuff out the door, is unnecessary, unwanted and unfair - and needs to cease and desist," Walden told the Hill news outlet.

In a blog post on Forbes.com, Fred Campbell, director of TechKnowledge and no fan of Wheeler's regulatory agenda, said "rather than focus on a smooth transition, Wheeler intends to keep pushing his partisan agenda to futility and beyond," citing the BDS vote among other things.

"Neither of the Republican commissioners have supported this [BDS revamp] idea and there is no reason to believe they’ll vote in favor of it now," he said, which is almost certainly the case.

Campbell pointed out that Wheeler has acknowledged that "elections have consequences." But one of those, apparently, is to light a fire under those still holding the levers, and in this case with a signal from the current president that he is not striking the flag just yet.

President Obama signaled in a press conference last week that he was going to continue to push for his agenda as long as he is in the White House — Wheeler's term as chairman will also be up when the new Administration takes over — so arguably Wheeler has marching orders of a sort, though the FCC is an independent agency.

The FCC circulated its agenda for the Nov. 17 public meeting two days after the election, and the BDS item, as well as one boosting the number of hours of video described programming cable and broadcast nets will have to provide, were still on the agenda.

He is also still seeking two more voted on his set-top revamp proposal, which is on circulation to the other commissioners.

The chairman's office declined comment. 

The Republican leadership of the House Energy & Commerce Committee is challenging the independence of the FCC Inspector General's (IG) office following its finding that FCC chairman Tom Wheeler did not leak information about the existence of a compromise on Lifeline subsidy reforms in order to blow up the deal.

E&C Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) and Communications Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden (R-Ore.) want the FCC to supply some specific information about the "interdependence" of the FCC and IG, they said in a letter to IG David Hunt.

“In order to address our committee’s concerns regarding the independence of the FCC’s Office of Inspector General and the impact on accountability in the FCC’s decision-making and management, we request… information necessary to understand the practical and working relationship between the Office of the Chairman and the Inspector General.”

The IG report found that Wheeler did leak the information, but that he had the authority to make nonpublic information public, and that there was no evidence of a motive beyond what FCC spokesperson Shannon Gilson, who said she had recommended the chairman release the info, said was "providing the press with information about the compromise Lifeline proposal to address the confusion that was already surrounding the item in the media."

The IG's office said it "found no evidence that the information was provided to the press in an attempt to unduly influence the outcome of the vote."

The Letter from Upton and Walden addresses their concerns more generally, citing a number of issues including what they said was the possible sharing of IG drafts and audits with the chairman's office before they were finalized, the FCC Office of Human Resources, a  "direct report" to the chairman's office, participating in IG hiring decisions, the apparent absence of IG reports from the FCC Web site.

The Republican legislators said that there is "growing concern that because the FCC Inspector General is appointed by, reports to, and is under the general supervision of the chairman of the commission that the IG is not free to provide the honest and independent criticism that is critical to the performance of the IG's oversight."

They want to know, among other things, what mechanisms are in place to ensure IG independence, what role the chairman plays in budgeting, drafting releases, and copies of all communications between the FCC and IG's office since 2012.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), who requested the IG investigation, was also not happy, particularly with the finding that the chairman was free to leak the information.

“The findings by the inspector general reveal significant dysfunction and a lack of transparency at the FCC,” he said after the committee circulated the report publicly. “Under the agency’s current interpretation, the FCC chairman is free to leak cherry-picked details about proceedings and deliberations while other commissioners are gagged and even kept in the dark about decisions by the chairman to approve such leaks. Worse yet, the FCC is not keeping a record of decisions by the chairman to disclose non-public information. This report is yet another indication of increased partisanship and dysfunction at the FCC that underscores the need for Congress to reform how the agency does business.”

Wheeler's office declined to comment on the Upton/Walden letter.

Democratic Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee,  has joined with House Republican leaders to call for the FCC to release the text of its set-top proposal before it votes on it. An FCC spokesperson said that the chairman does not release items until after the final vote.

That request for the text came in a letter to FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Friday (Sept. 16) and followed similar calls by Senate Republicans in an FCC oversight hearing this week.

Before a vote such items are considered works in progress--they can still be adjusted and edited--and Wheeler clearly signaled this week that the set-top proposal was not done.

Also calling for release of the proposal text were Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Communications Subcommittee Chair Greg Walden (R-Ore.), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.). Conyers is ranking member on Judiciary

In the letter, they say that the proposal would benefit from a public vetting and, absent that, it is hard to know what the FCC is planning or its impact.

Republican members of the commission, notably Ajit Pai, have also called for releasing the document.

"Without further delay, we request that you release the text of the proposal," they said, which "raises issues of significance to both of our Committees." They said they also wanted stakeholders to have "time to meaningfully discuss the implications of the proposal."

Senate and House Democrats have increasingly expressed their concerns and called for more deliberation--Wheeler has scheduled a vote for Sept. 29--though Sens. Ed Markey (D-

Wheeler has said he is willing, and expects, to continue to hash out the item with his colleagues, which will be necessary since the two Republicans are opposed and Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel has questioned the FCC's authority to get into the app standards-setting business.

"Consistent with long-standing FCC procedure, the Chairman does not release an item under consideration prior to the final vote of all Commissioners," said FCC press secretary Kim Hart. "As Chairman Wheeler has said, releasing the text of the order prior to the vote would be a radical departure from established procedure and could undermine the crucial deliberation process between Commissioners. 

"We continue to have productive conversations with all stakeholders about Chairman Wheeler’s apps-based proposal to ensure consumers have the options they deserve – and that Congress mandated – to access the programming they already pay for."

Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.), chairman of both the House Communications Subcommittee and the National Republican Congressional Committee, says he is supporting Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee for President.

Walden said he still had issues with Trump, but he had more with Hillary Clinton.

“The American people know the damage done by this administration here at home and around the world," Walden said in a statement. "The last thing I want is to give the same Obama/Clinton/Sanders philosophy another four years in charge. While I may disagree with the rhetoric Mr. Trump uses and some policy positions, he is the better option than Hillary Clinton in the White House. That’s why all along I’ve said I intend to support the GOP nominee.”

Trump was among Republicans who met with Trump this week to try and mend fences and unify the party.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, earlier this week said he would support Trump as well.